Eight people including 6 children missing as heavy rains trigger flooding in Sri Lanka

Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Police in Sri Lanka say eight people, including six children who were returning from school, have gone missing when the farm tractor they were traveling on was swept away by floods triggered by heavy rains. Sri Lanka has experienced heavy downpours and strong winds over the past two days that have flooded homes, fields and roads and forced authorities to suspend train services in tea-growing mountain areas. The Meteorology Department attributed the severe weather to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal and warned it is likely to move closer to Sri Lanka and intensify into a cyclonic storm on Thursday. Sri Lanka has been grappling with severe weather since May, mostly caused by heavy monsoon rains.